The Northern Samar provincial government is targeting to increase the number of cooperatives in the province from 83 to as many as 800 within three years, with local officials linking the expansion to stronger livelihoods and greater disaster resilience.

Provincial Cooperative and Community Affairs Office (PCCAO) officer-in-charge Rei Josiah Echano said several initiatives have been lined up to increase cooperative membership, strengthen capitalization and expand cooperative services to more sectors, including agriculture, microfinance, transport and consumer enterprises.

“Our strategy will focus on both capacity-building for existing primary cooperatives and establishing new enterprises in underserved areas,” Echano said in a phone interview on Monday.

The PCCAO will also continue governance training, regulatory compliance and financial management programs to help ensure the stability and sustainability of cooperatives.

Echano said cooperatives could play a major role in the province’s disaster risk reduction efforts by helping communities prepare for and recover from natural hazards.

Member-owned organizations can provide micro-insurance, emergency loan funds and shared savings to help members cope with crop losses, property damage and health emergencies, he said.

Cooperatives can also help farmers, fisherfolk, transport workers and micro-entrepreneurs pool resources, improve products and develop additional sources of income.

“Through collective action, small producers could acquire equipment, establish grain storage facilities and develop post-harvest facilities that may otherwise be too costly for individual members,” Echano added.

Cooperatives can also mobilize members to protect forests, watersheds and coastal areas that serve as natural buffers against disasters.

After disasters, organized cooperatives can function as community-based networks for relief and recovery, helping distribute assistance and restore local supply chains and economic activities.

Echano said thousands of members of informal farming associations, fisherfolk groups, transport operators’ associations, women’s groups and small vendors remain vulnerable to economic and climate-related shocks because only 83 cooperatives currently operate in the province.

The PCCAO plans to help organize these groups into cooperatives registered with the Cooperative Development Authority, allowing them to qualify for government grants, climate-resilience funding and low-interest credit.

The initiative is also intended to keep financial returns, patronage refunds and dividends circulating within local communities.

Echano called on municipal governments, the CDA and local communities to work together to meet the province’s target.

He said the broader goal is to move Northern Samar away from reliance on recurring disaster assistance and toward long-term economic resilience built at the community level. (PNA)